Square's PS2 debut, Final Fantasy X, hit stores in Japan yesterday, and sales have been nothing short of spectacular. The company held a bit of a party in Tokyo at the Shinjuku Virgin Megastore to commemorate the historic event. Square president Hisashi Suzuki was at the event, and announced that pre-orders for the game had peaked at nearly 1.5 million units, and that by the end of the day 2.14 million copies had been shipped.

This shatters all previous sales records on the PS2, easily overtaking previous leader Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. The company's enthusiasm was obvious as sales expectations of 4 million units for Japan and 10 million units worldwide were predicted. Also on hand at the event were lead composer Nobuo Uematsu and RIKKI, who performed the game's theme song. The two chatted with the crowd as well, and spoke of how their collaboration came into being.

No firm release date, other than the nebulous "early 2002", has been set for the North American release of Final Fantasy X, but expect a similar frenzy when the game arrives on the continent. Keep checking RPGamer for more news as this RPG milestone makes its way over from the Orient.